


Search for the Starry Sky

by VirtualNight



Series: Negative Space: Mermaid AU [1]
Category: Negative Space - Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Interspecies Romance, M/M, Near Death Experience, Supernatural Elements, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-10 01:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14727557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirtualNight/pseuds/VirtualNight
Summary: Will knows he shouldn't have survived being swept out to sea, so he makes it his mission to find out how he was saved.





	1. NDE: Deep Water

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Though I have previously written stories within the "Gayliens" fandom, I decided to drop the name from any new stories since I will not be writing in that context anymore. My characters (as well as a few belonging to a friend) will be part of a universe I am calling "Negative Space" from now on. This has nothing really to do with the others who were making the comic, I just want to do my own thing. All the old stories will keep their Gayliens tag, and I will leave them up unless asked to do otherwise.

Despite knowing that it was a foolish thing to do, much more reckless than anything he would normally try to do, his legs still carried him deeper into the water. Will couldn’t think about anything other than reaching that child before she got too far out. He told himself that nobody had to cry today, especially not the father that waited on the shore with no strength of his own to pursue her. When Will finally felt her in his arms and hefted her to the surface, he knew it would be okay. Her cries changed from fear to  relief when she was able to swim on her own, pushing out of Will’s arms to rush toward her father’s waiting arms.  
  
He was only afforded a short moment to see their reunion when he was suddenly knocked forward by a larger wave and lost his balance. The tide pulled him out with its receding current and though he struggled, the slippery silt beneath him only gave way. After a quick breach of the surface, one last gasp of air, Will felt another wave engulf him. The water carried him further out while his failing strength made him sink into the depths. As his lungs burned for air, he could swear he was seeing the night sky light up with stars. His vision blurred as he recalled that the sun was still shining when he was swept out to sea.  
  


* * *

  
  
Awareness returned to him slowly, sounds first, the rush of the waves on the shore. Then he heard a voice, or what he thought was one. A smooth, almost comforting sound with the rhythmic patterns of speech. No words were clear to him despite how close it felt. The rushing water roared in his ears like static from speakers an drowned it out, though he could still separate the two. The sudden weight on his cheek was clearer than anything else, and it coaxed him back into consciousness as it began to brush over his skin. Though he had the impulse to swat it away, he could only lie there as his energy returned to him slowly.  Will’s mind tried again to focus on the voice as his eyes sluggishly blinked open. It was dark, the stars blurry above him. Just as soon as he started to move, the touch on his face and the sound were gone.  Perhaps just an animal?  
  
While his mind caught up to everything that was happening, he pushed himself up on trembling legs. Will’s thoughts zeroed in on one thing as he surveyed the empty beach: how was he still alive? Someone helped him, he knew that must be it. Everyone had long gone home and left the beach empty, and the only evidence he could find of his savior were hand prints in the wet sand. Not even footprints leading away to tell him where they had gone. Someone had been here, it was their voice he had heard.  
  
Instinct told him to head back to his car for now. There was no sense standing out on the beach in damp clothes after all. Will needed to get home and let people know he was okay. Everything other than taking care of himself would have to wait until tomorrow. Sitting in the driver’s seat, he checked his pockets to find his phone still there. Much to his relief, the plastic bag it was in didn’t have any leaks and the phone seemed unharmed. One less thing to worry over.  
  
He tried to reason through everything during the drive, going over the short timeline of events as best he could. There were flashes of things he could only sort of remember, things that his panic in those moments had clouded. The currents had carried him so far out, likely past the drop-off. There was no way he got back to shore without help, right? Fighting the waves had tired him, and he definitely remembered starting to sink. Will distinctly remembered it starting to get darker, but he couldn’t be sure of the reason. Had he already started to black out, or had he been pushed that deep? Even stranger were the stars he thought he saw, but for the moment he reasoned that maybe he had come back into consciousness later. Trauma like that could have mixed things up.  
  
As he pulled into his driveway, he realized that all he really wanted right now was a hot shower and dry clothes. He muscles still twitched as he trudged to his door and got himself inside. The warmth of his house had made Will suddenly very aware of how utterly uncomfortable he was. Sand was rubbing at his skin beneath his clothes, and suddenly it was obvious that his left ear had water in it. Everything ached with his exhaustion and Will reasoned that several hours of unconsciousness probably didn’t count as rest.  
  
He rushed to the bathroom, only pausing to plug his phone in, and fumbled out of his clothes while the shower warmed up. Tension melted from his muscles as the water streamed over him. Leaning against the wall, he watched the grime go down the drain and reflected on his brush with death. Today could have been it for him. He just would have been gone, and he really wasn’t sure what kind of effect it would have on the few people he was close to. The more he thought about it, the more Will realized that he wasn’t so much afraid of the end as he was of leaving people behind. The thought of people crying over him for any reason made his chest ache. The rest of his shower was quick, just the basics, because a new mission was in his mind: call Cassi and make sure she knew he was okay. He wasn’t sure if she knew what happened today, but he really needed to hear a familiar voice.  
  
Sitting on his bed, he pulled up her number. Catching sight of the time made him hesitate. It was past midnight already, and even though she didn’t have work the next day, he wasn’t sure about waking her. Surely Cassi would understand? After a moment longer, he pressed the call button.  
  
  
“Mm..hello?” Cassi’s groggy voice came through after several rings.  
  
“Cassi, it’s Will.” He figured he should give her time to wake up a bit.  
  
“Oh! Will? Wh-…you’re calling in the middle of the night, is something wrong?” Her tone grew panicked.  
  
“No, no. Something…happened, but I want to be clear that I’m fine now.” Will paused, knowing that telling her outright would be the best option. Keeping things from her would just worry her more. “I nearly drowned today, while I was out at the beach. There was a little girl out in the water getting swept away and I just…” he sighed “I didn’t think. I rushed out there but everything about it is sort of a blur.”  
  
It took her a moment to process it, but she finally said “That sounds terrifying, I can’t really even imagine it. I’m really glad you’re alright though…thinking about losing you is pretty terrible.” He could hear the slight tremble of on-coming tears in her voice.  
  
“It was. I’m honestly not certain how I made it back to the beach. I feel like someone was there, but they were gone when I came to.” He leaned back against his headboard.  
  
“What kind of person saves someone from drowning and then just leaves them out there alone? At night no less!” The irritated huff from her end made him feel a little better, and it seemed to get her mind away from crying. He hadn’t really thought to question his savior’s actions like that.  
  
“I want to find them, but all I have to go off of is that they don’t leave footprints.” Will laughed after hearing himself say it. “Maybe it was a ghost?”  
  
“Unless it was a fisherman that just sort of, tossed you onto the sand from their boat, I really doubt you could find anyone like that.” Cassi sounded unnerved. Perhaps joking about a ghost saving him was in bad taste.  
  
Their conversation went on until he could hear Cassi yawning. After bidding her sweet dreams, Will settled in under a blanket and let himself drift off as he thought of where to start his search.


	2. Just a Normal Day

It wasn’t until the next morning, as he sorted his clothes for the laundry that Will found a much-needed clue. Snagged on his shirt was an earring made of a spiral cone shell and a few small pearls. Will couldn’t tell what fastened it all together, but it looked to him like a unique method. How it ended up in his clothes was the bigger mystery to him at the moment. 

The young girl he helped hadn’t been wearing jewelry that he could recall. Certainly not something this large anyway. The odds of it finding its way onto his person while he was drifting in the ocean were slim, but he also wasn’t ready to assume this was a clue in finding his anonymous savior. For now, he snapped a picture of the earring, then set it on his nightstand and went back to morning chores. 

Breakfast was made while his work clothes fluffed in the dryer. He was running later that usual, but Marci had volunteered to open. She had said it was to let him sleep in after his day off, but Will suspected that she just genuinely enjoyed spending those early mornings alone in the shop. 

By the time he realized that he should tell Marci what happened last night, he was on the road, giving him little time to prepare. She would either joke about it somehow, or she would refuse to believe it was as serious as he knew it had been. There was typically no middle ground with her. If he had to choose though, he would definitely prefer joking. Anything to lighten the mood about the incident. It took a few moments of mental preparation to get Will out of his car once he arrived. He was still shaken, despite his efforts to start today off as just any other. Will could feel himself relax a bit once he entered the shop however, the chime of the bells above the door reminding him that he was in his element. The air was filled with familiar scents, and Marci’s voice as she greeted him was comforting, even in all its dry severity.

“Hey.” Marci’s face didn’t betray much. “Damn, what happened to you? Spend your off-day in a jail cell?”

“No…” Will cleared his throat “…and I don’t really want to know why you would assume that.” He walked behind the counter, pushing his bag into a cubby underneath it. “I went to the beach, but I sort of-…well, I nearly drowned.” He blurted it out, immediately feeling a mix of regret and doubt overwhelm him.

“Sick.” She let out a short laugh, but then turned to eye him suspiciously. “You’re sure you lived? How do I know you’re not a ghost, old man?” That smirk just slightly quirking at the edge of her mouth was all Will needed to be sure he had made the right decision.

“I am not a ghost, Marcella. It was serious, but I did in fact survive.” He put on his apron, then pulled a hair tie from one of its pockets to fasten his hair into a loose ponytail.

Marci didn’t look up from her flowers this time, but he could hear how she grit her teeth. “Keep calling me Marcella and you really will be a ghost.”

Will sighed and mumbled an apology. If she was talking like that though, it meant he should drop the subject for now. When things got serious Marci usually needed it kept short. The bells at the front door rang, mercifully preventing the situation from becoming awkward. He put on his customer service smile and went about helping the visitor with their purchase.

The work day went by slowly, and around lunch time Will really started to feel the stress his body had been put through. The backs of his knees somehow felt sore, and his ribs ached as if he’d had a four day cough. When he took a seat in the small break room, Marci called out to him.

“You should go home. I can handle the shop.” Her tone was firm, almost a command.

“No, no…” He paused, trying to recall why he knew he needed to be here. ”Well, don’t you have a date tonight? I can’t keep you from that.” Will heard a sigh, which was followed up by too long of a silence to indicate anything good.

Marci trudged in and let herself fall into one of the cushioned chairs. “No date tonight. He wasn’t that into me anymore after I mentioned my ex-girlfriend.” 

Will hummed, not sure if he should comment on the man or just reassure her. “I think it’s better you found out early then. Not much time wasted that way, right?”

Leaning over the table and resting her head on it, Marci let out an exaggerated groan. “I’m done with straight dudes. No, you know what? I’ll just wait for a beautiful alien woman to find me. Humans suck.”

Will chuckled as he imagined Marci in a game-like situation, trying to charm any alien ladies she met. Though he soon found himself seriously considering if he would want to romance someone from another planet. He had definitely indulged himself in too much fantasy and sci-fi content.

The front door opening startled him a bit, making him think he’d forgotten to change the sign to tell customers they were closed for lunch. It made sense when he peeked out from the break room to see Cassi on the other side of the counter.

“Thank goodness you’re here.” She seemed as if she’d rushed here. “I tried calling again to check on you, and you weren’t home, so I got worried.” 

Will waved her behind the counter as he pulled his phone out. Sure enough, 2 missed calls and a few texts, and the speaker symbol at the top of the screen with a line through it. “I must have put it on silent by mistake, I’m sorry.”

Cassi followed him back, already opening her bag to produce a baking dish. “I made food, a new recipe. Don’t worry though, I already tested it.” It was hardly on the table before Marci was sitting up and reaching out to open it. 

“Damn, still warm too.” Marci mumbled as she started serving herself a large portion.

Cassi just shook her head with a smile before looking to Will again. “Any luck with the mysterious savior?” She took a seat, tucking her bag under the chair.

“The only clue I have is an earring.” Will tapped at his phone, opening up the photo gallery to show her the picture. “It’s a bit strange…I keep coming up with new questions the more I look at it.”

Both women leaned in to look at the screen. “There’s no metal? Instead of a hook, I think a peg goes through these holes.” Cassi pointed at the top of the earring where there was a gap instead of a typical fastener. “I can ask a friend about it, if you want.”

“Please do. I’m certainly no detective, so I wouldn’t even know where to start aside from a search engine.” Will slipped his phone back in his pocket. His coworker passed him a bowl and fork, prompting him with a stern look to eat.

Someone had to be missing this earring, it wasn’t like anything else he’d ever seen. He decided his first step would be to post a photo of it online in hopes its owner, or someone who knew them, would see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not super happy with this chapter, but after having to put it off because I got sick, I just wanted to be able to update it soon. I have also been trying my hardest not to rush this story like I am prone to do, haha.


End file.
